KURAKIN, Prince Alexander Borisovich (1752-1818). Retained copies of 45 diplomatic letters to Tsar Alexander I, Tilsit, Bialystock, Merzerice and Vienna, 28 June/10 July 1807 - 31 October/12 November 1808, in French, numbered 1-46 (lacking no.7), in single column, each page marked with a single vertical central fold, 135 leaves, folio , apparently autograph title 'Mes Lettres à l'Empereur, pendant mon Ambassade à Vienne Années 1807 et 1808 Tome 1r', green morocco gilt, lettered in gilt on upper cover 'Au Prince Alexandre Kourakin', title on spine, gilt edges (wear to lower portion of spine).
KURAKIN, Prince Alexander Borisovich (1752-1818). Retained copies of 45 diplomatic letters to Tsar Alexander I, Tilsit, Bialystock, Merzerice and Vienna, 28 June/10 July 1807 - 31 October/12 November 1808, in French, numbered 1-46 (lacking no.7), in single column, each page marked with a single vertical central fold, 135 leaves, folio , apparently autograph title 'Mes Lettres à l'Empereur, pendant mon Ambassade à Vienne Années 1807 et 1808 Tome 1r', green morocco gilt, lettered in gilt on upper cover 'Au Prince Alexandre Kourakin', title on spine, gilt edges (wear to lower portion of spine). The first letter is written the day after the Tsar's departure from Tilsit, where on 7 July he had signed a treaty with Napoleon of which Kurakin had been a key architect. Kurakin's primary concern whilst in Vienna is to recount the tenor of relations with the Austrian Emperor -- warning in February 1808 of the failure of a secret commission of Count Peter Golovkin, which demonstrates 'how little we may count upon the disposition of the House of Austria in our favour', while in July of the same year he speaks of the 'boundless confidence' of Francis I in the Tsar. At the same time, Kurakin keeps a close eye on the broader political currents in Europe, with reflections on Ottoman ambitions along the Danube and the French takeover of Spain, and finds space for matters of detail, including a suggestion for dealing with the flow of Russian deserters over the Austrian border. Later letters are much preoccupied with arrangements for Kurakin's reluctant transfer to the Paris embassy, where he was to remain until the eve of the French invasion of Russia.
KURAKIN, Prince Alexander Borisovich (1752-1818). Retained copies of 45 diplomatic letters to Tsar Alexander I, Tilsit, Bialystock, Merzerice and Vienna, 28 June/10 July 1807 - 31 October/12 November 1808, in French, numbered 1-46 (lacking no.7), in single column, each page marked with a single vertical central fold, 135 leaves, folio , apparently autograph title 'Mes Lettres à l'Empereur, pendant mon Ambassade à Vienne Années 1807 et 1808 Tome 1r', green morocco gilt, lettered in gilt on upper cover 'Au Prince Alexandre Kourakin', title on spine, gilt edges (wear to lower portion of spine).
KURAKIN, Prince Alexander Borisovich (1752-1818). Retained copies of 45 diplomatic letters to Tsar Alexander I, Tilsit, Bialystock, Merzerice and Vienna, 28 June/10 July 1807 - 31 October/12 November 1808, in French, numbered 1-46 (lacking no.7), in single column, each page marked with a single vertical central fold, 135 leaves, folio , apparently autograph title 'Mes Lettres à l'Empereur, pendant mon Ambassade à Vienne Années 1807 et 1808 Tome 1r', green morocco gilt, lettered in gilt on upper cover 'Au Prince Alexandre Kourakin', title on spine, gilt edges (wear to lower portion of spine). The first letter is written the day after the Tsar's departure from Tilsit, where on 7 July he had signed a treaty with Napoleon of which Kurakin had been a key architect. Kurakin's primary concern whilst in Vienna is to recount the tenor of relations with the Austrian Emperor -- warning in February 1808 of the failure of a secret commission of Count Peter Golovkin, which demonstrates 'how little we may count upon the disposition of the House of Austria in our favour', while in July of the same year he speaks of the 'boundless confidence' of Francis I in the Tsar. At the same time, Kurakin keeps a close eye on the broader political currents in Europe, with reflections on Ottoman ambitions along the Danube and the French takeover of Spain, and finds space for matters of detail, including a suggestion for dealing with the flow of Russian deserters over the Austrian border. Later letters are much preoccupied with arrangements for Kurakin's reluctant transfer to the Paris embassy, where he was to remain until the eve of the French invasion of Russia.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
